


The Citadel's Little Secret

by ChristineThalassinou1990



Series: Warcraft One Shots & Short Stories [12]
Category: Warcraft (2016), Warcraft - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Dadgar, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kid!Medivh, Master & Apprentice Relationship, Protective Khadgar, Repressed Memories, Reunion... Kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29769666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristineThalassinou1990/pseuds/ChristineThalassinou1990
Summary: Thirty years after the events of the movie, Khadgar goes back to Dalaran, searching for an apprentice. However, this trip gives him the chance to save a life, in exchange for the one he'd taken, albeit unwillingly, so long ago.
Relationships: Khadgar & Medivh (Warcraft)
Series: Warcraft One Shots & Short Stories [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141130
Kudos: 2





	The Citadel's Little Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, a few things to know before you read:
> 
> \- The fic takes place 30 years after the movie's end, the orcs were beaten, there's peace on Azeroth once again  
> \- Khadgar's mind repressed the memory of killing Medivh due to it being awfully traumatic for him. Most probably it'll come back at some point of his life to bite him in the ass once again, but it's not a part of this fic  
> \- Medivh remembers only his name from his previous life, nothing else. I have no intention to retraumatize that poor thing

Khadgar was wandering around in the Violet Citadel's library without any particular goal. He hadn't been here in the last thirty years, despite living mostly in Lordearon during this time and being a born bookworm. Moreover, he'd made a conscious effort to minimalize his contact with the Kirin Tor, and mostly with anyone, really. That war with the orcs left Azeroth and its residence scarred most probably for life, and even though Khadgar couldn't recall a good chunk of it, not even for the life of him, the rest that he did remember was more than enough to give him nightmares for decades. Like the gruesome, untimely death of his dear friend Anduin Lothar... Unfortunately for Khadgar, he couldn't forget this one.

He had no idea what was the part he didn't remember, but he was pretty sure that his mind decided to suppress it for a very good reason, and he was much better off this way. There was no need to try and search for these lost memories. Now, however, he was here again, in Dalaran, because a sudden, urging feeling told him he should get an apprentice to pass his knowledge on. Khadgar guessed it was a common urge of mages who've passed a certain age, but for a while, he'd resisted it, not wanting to deal with the Kirin Tor or with a small kid, for that matter. It was a challenge enough to take care of himself, a kid would've made things much more difficult.

A small noise jerked Khadgar out of his quite dark thoughts, and he looked around in the dimly lit library, only to find nothing. Except that he was absolutely sure someone else was with him here. He started walking in the direction he thought the noise came from, but the library was huge, to put it nicely; whomever he'd heard, they had plenty of places to hide.

As he circled around a long, massive shelf, he saw a few flowing strands of copper hair and heard the noise of small, bare feet running, but before he could've even opened his mouth and called after the kid, silence fell again on the library. Khadgar didn't know if the kid was just hiding somewhere or left the library altogether; he was pretty close to the entrance, after all. However, the unexpected encounter made him think for a moment.

When Archmage Antonidas and the other masters got wind of his intention to take an apprentice, everyone presented their pupils to him, kids between the age of ten and fourteen, cute, lovely little brats all; but Khadgar knew for sure that there was not one among them with copper hair. They were mostly blondes, with a few brown and black, but not copper. In fact, it was a quite rare hair colour in Lordearon, Khadgar suspected that the kid he saw wasn't from around. Still, he apparently had access to the library, which was a privilege granted only to the mages and students of the Violet Citadel.

 _Whose apprentice are you, little one?_ , Khadgar thought as he was roaming the library, now searching for the mysterious child. _And why did they keep you a secret?_

After about a half an hour search, Khadgar found nothing. It was almost as if the kid was just a trick of his imagination, but Khadgar knew what he saw; and his curiosity was screaming for an answer.

*

Next morning, when he had breakfast with Antonidas, Khadgar brought up the topic quite bluntly: he just told the Archmage about the strange encounter in the library.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"He must be our little Raven" Antonidas said with a fond smile.

The Archmage was old even at the time of the orc war, and now he looked almost ancient; but his mind was still sharp and his heart kind.

"Now, that's an unusual name" Khadgar commented. _And not even fitting. If he had black hair, maybe... But with that strange hair colour of his? Definitely not._

"He was wrapped in a blanket with a raven on it when we found him on the Citadel's stairs, that's how he's got it" Antonidas explained. "He was barely a week old, left there without a single clue about who he was or who were his parents. So we took him in."

"Poor kid... Being abandoned like this" Khadgar sighed, his heart aching for the small child. Whatever were his parents' sins, he shouldn't have been punished for them. "And who's his tutor? I don't recall seeing him yesterday."

Antonidas' face grew somewhat sad and he sighed heavily.

"We tried to teach him but it seems he's not mage material. He managed to learn a few spells, so perhaps he'd be good at another school of magic, I don't know. He can read, he can write, and he loves books, so he hangs out in the library for most of the time. But no one wants him as their pupil, he's on his own. I'm trying to keep my eyes on him, teach him this and that, but my time is limited. Besides, he's very timid, it's a gambit even for me if he comes or not when I call him, and he's used to me the best. The fact that you could spot him is not a small feat."

"Well, it seems he's a curious little bird, shy or not" Khadgar smiled, already a plan forming in his mind. "And I bet there's something I can use as a bait to lure him out of his nest."

Antonidas conjured a few muffins and wrapped them in a napkin.

"They'll definitely help. But be prepared, he's... not too talkative" he said, giving the small package to Khadgar.

The younger mage took it with a nod then stood up and headed for the library, hoping to catch a reclusive little bird.

*

Khadgar didn't have to wait long. Antonidas was right, the muffins proved to be a huge help in luring out the kid of his hiding place. Not half an hour after the mage occupied a table in one of the well-hidden corners of the library, in the company of a good book and the cookies, he spotted movement near to the shelf closest to him. He didn't look toward there directly, only from the corner of his eye, but the flash of copper locks was unmistakeable. Khadgar couldn't bite back a smile.

"You can have one" he said, and a few minutes later, the kid came close enough so Khadgar could have a better look at him.

He was small and thin, not more than ten or eleven years old, wearing the clothes of the mage pupils but not shoes, he was barefoot. His unruly strands brushed past his ears and hid his big, sad greenish-blue eyes in shadows. He didn't look openly at Khadgar but he was obviously measuring up the adult mage, trying to determinate if he could be trusted. Khadgar waited patiently for the judgement and couldn't help but considered it a small victory when the kid finally decided to accept his offering and took one of the muffins.

Khadgar watched him nibbling on it, his heart squeezing. The kid was unhappy here, that much was obvious. Yes, he had a roof over his head, he wasn't starving, but he wasn't loved and cared after the way he should've been. He had no one and nothing aside from the clothes he was wearing; and he had no future. Not unless someone gave him one. In this moment, a revelation hit Khadgar with the clarity of a lightning bolt in the face: he wasn't here for an apprentice. He was here to save a life if he could. However, convincing the kid to go with him seemed tricky, at the very least.

"You want another one?" Khadgar asked when the boy finished his muffin. "You can have it if you want."

After a few moments of hesitation, the kid took another cookie, munching on it contentedly, and for the first time he looked up at Khadgar's face.

"Are you a mage?" he finally asked, sounding a bit nervous but curious in the same time. "I've never seen you here before."

"Yeah, I'm a mage, my name's Khadgar. I was a student here very long ago" Khadgar smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He extended his hand friendly, and soon, the kid tentatively took it. His hand was so small and delicate, Khadgar was afraid he'd break it even with the slightest of squeeze.

"Why are you here?"

"Well, I'm in search for an apprentice. The others were cute and all, but not exactly what I'm looking for. You, however, seem just the right one. Would you like to be my apprentice?" the mage asked, not knowing at all what kind of an answer he should expect.

The kid's eyes filled with tears as he admitted that he could barely do any magic.

"Why would you want _me_ to be your apprentice?" he asked, and Khadgar didn't think just hugged him tight when those tears ran down on his face.

"You have plenty of time to learn, and there are many kinds of magic, so not being good at one doesn't mean you won't be good at another" Khadgar explained, holding the now weeping kid and rubbing his back in slow circles, trying to soothe him. "You _will_ learn to fly, little Raven."

"That's not my real name" the kid muttered into his shoulder when he calmed down a little.

"Then what is?"

 _Medivh._ But he didn't dare say it just yet. For now, he was just Khadgar's little Raven.


End file.
